APA Science Student Council

The nine members of the APA Science Student Council (APASSC) represent the breadth of scientific psychology, including developmental, clinical, neuroscience, cognitive, industrial/organizational, social and quantitative specialties. Listed below are the current members and their areas of research specialization.

Potential SSC applicants may contact current SSC members in their area of interest to discuss the positions and responsibilities, or may contact the APA Science Directorate.

Members

2015 Chair: Corbin A. Cunningham (2013-15), Johns Hopkins University
Research Focus: Cognitive
Cunningham is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University working under the tutelage of Howard Egeth. His research focuses on how selective attention is modulated by top-down information. Specifically, he is interested in how inhibitory processes (e.g. ignoring irrelevant information) influence the efficiency of visual search. Additionally, he investigates how information in memory can influence the allocation of attention during visual search (e.g. how do you search the grocery store for all the items on your list). To learn more, visit his website.

Hannah T. Boettcher (2014-16), Boston University
Research Focus: Clinical Science
Hannah Boettcher is a third-year doctoral student studying clinical psychology under the mentorship of Dr. David Barlow at Boston University. Her research interests include developing and evaluating transdiagnostic interventions for anxiety and related disorders, assessment of psychopathological mechanisms in the development and maintenance of emotional disorders, and targeting quality of life in clinical interventions. Current projects include testing a preventative intervention for young adults at risk for anxiety and depression; developing a computer-based version of a transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders; and training mental health providers in the delivery of flexible evidence-based treatment.

Richard Chambers, II (2013-15), Louisiana Tech University
Research Focus: Industrial/Organizational
Richard Chambers is a third-year doctoral student in industrial-organizational psychology at Louisiana Tech University. His research interests include technology and social media use in the workplace as they relate to counterproductive work behaviors and their utility in employee selection. Chambers is also a member of the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology's Electronic Communications Committee and an enthusiast of the R statistical package. To learn more, visit LinkedIn.

Caitlin V. Cosme (2014-16), University of Iowa
Research Focus:Behavioral Neuroscience
Cosme is a third-year doctoral candidate in the behavioral and cognitive neuroscience program at the University of Iowa under the direction of Ryan LaLumiere. Her work focuses on the neurobiology of drug addiction with an emphasis on cocaine addiction. Specifically, she uses a self-administration model of cocaine addiction to explore how various regions of the prefrontal cortex influence the relapse stage of addiction. Her most recent studies have focused on the role of the insular cortex in addiction as well as investigations into the role of dopamine in the infralimbic cortex on relapse behaviors in rodents.

Jenna R. Cummings (2014-15), University of California, Los Angeles
Research Focus: Health Psychology
Jenna R. Cummings is a second-year health psychology student at University of California, Los Angeles. She is interested in examining overlapping reinforcement mechanisms between alcohol use and eating behavior, and the interaction/potential competition between alcohol use and eating behavior. Jenna is currently finishing her master's thesis, which investigates the influence of risk perception, while eating and drinking alcohol, on social bonding. To learn more visit Jenna’s website.

Allison E. Gaffey (2013-15), University of Notre Dame
Research Focus: Biopsychology
Gaffey is a fifth year doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Notre Dame. She conducts research under the guidance of Professor Michelle Wirth, in the area of stress and emotion physiology, with a focus on neuroendocrine systems. Currently, Gaffey is examining how those physiological mechanisms (including the hormones cortisol, progesterone, testosterone and oxytocin) can buffer against the negative effects of stress, promoting or protecting against psychopathology — including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. She is also interested in how those associations change across the developmental trajectory. To learn more, visit Emotion and Stress Physiology Lab.

Joseph Gonzales (2013-15), University of California, Davis
Research Focus: Methodology
Gonzales is a fourth year doctoral student in quantitative psychology at the University of California, Davis. Under the guidance of Professor Emilio Ferrer he conducts research on methods for analyzing multivariate longitudinal data with consideration of the problem of process heterogeneity. General methodological interests involve questions of factor invariance, time series analysis and multivariate-multisystem modeling. Some of his substantive interests are in romantic relationships, mate selection, evolutionary psychology and ovulatory effects on behavior in humans. To learn more, visit the Dynamics in Psychological Science Lab.

Patty X. Kuo (2013-15), University of Michigan
Research Focus: Developmental
Kuo is a PhD candidate in developmental psychology at the University of Michigan, where she works with Brenda Volling. Her research investigates multiple levels of influence on family processes with an emphasis on fathers of young children and infants. She is particularly interested in the interplay of biological, cognitive and social influences on fathering behavior and family dynamics. To learn more, visit Kuo’s University of Michigan website.

Daniel Rovenpor (2014-16), University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Research Focus: Social/Personality
Daniel Rovenpor is a fourth-year graduate student in social psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His primary research investigates the role of motivation in the affect-cognition relationship. Recent work investigates the role of control beliefs in emotion regulation and the mechanisms through which affect regulates cognitive processing. Other research interests include the role of meaning in life in conflict resolution and the links between attributions of responsibility and social justice.